The surprising health benefits of kindness: Feb 17 is National Random Acts of Kindness Day

Acts of kindness and generosity trigger a feel-good chemical response.

Your brain releases feel-good chemicals whenever you are giving, kind or generous.

Engaging in selfless acts not only serves the people around you, but also gives your mind and body a healthy boost. There's a term for that warm glow you feel when doing something kind for others: the "helper's high."

Kindness is chemical

"The helper's high is a very real phenomenon," said Dr. Neha Chaudhary, child and adolescent psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and chief medical officer at BeMe Health.

Performing an act of kindness stimulates the reward center in our brain, leading to the release of dopamine -- the brain's "feel good" chemical messenger. Dopamine is the same neurochemical behind the euphoric rush produced by exercising, sex, and some recreational drugs.

Being kind also triggers the release of serotonin in the brain, which improves mood and promotes feelings of well-being. Kindness even helps us feel friendlier and more connected by increasing levels of oxytocin -- also known as the "love hormone."

"Scientists think that brains are wired to get a helper's high as the human species' way of trying to keep itself alive and thriving through mutual support and less stress for everyone," said Chaudhary.